Andrii Melnyk
The inclusion of the Russian Armed Forces on the list of shame for rape and other forms of conflict-related sexual violence is grounds for suspending Russia from participating in peacekeeping missions under the UN flag.
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk, stated this at a Security Council meeting, Ukrinform reports.
“What a disgrace for this inglorious Russian army and the so-called law enforcement agencies, which are nothing more than a gang of rapists,” the Permanent Representative stressed.
According to him, these crimes are not news to Ukraine, as they have been systematically documented since the beginning of the Russian occupation of Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014. Now, these facts have been independently verified and officially recorded by the UN.
Melnyk cited the Secretary-General’s report, which confirms: “310 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks, and beatings of genitals against 280 men, 26 women, and four girls, committed by Russian military and security structures, including the Federal Penitentary Service, the Russian Armed Forces, and the Federal Security Service.”
Melnyk addressed the Russian delegation with a proposal to leave the United Nations, as the RF representatives criticized UN documents regarding Moscow’s war crimes.
“If Russia is uncomfortable with all the General Assembly resolutions demanding the unconditional withdrawal of its troops, or, more correctly, its war criminals from Ukrainian land, if Russia rejects independent reports of the relevant UN bodies exposing Moscow’s barbaric policy, maybe it is time to say goodbye and get out of the UN,” the Permanent Representative said.
He emphasized that the Russian Federation was never properly admitted to the UN: “I don’t think anyone in this room will shed tears when Russia finally slams the door and gets out. Every day, the Russian representative spits in all our faces with his lies, while we politely pretend it’s just rain.”
As the diplomat recalled, the Russian armed forces have already been included in the UN Secretary-General’s report on violations against children in armed conflicts three consecutive times.
“Now Russia is listed under two key mechanisms of the UN Security Council — on children and armed conflict, and on conflict-related sexual violence,” Melnyk pointed out.
According to him, this decision cannot remain “just a symbolic gesture.” A military force listed by the Secretary-General for conflict-related sexual violence cannot and must not participate in operations under the UN flag, the Permanent Representative noted, emphasizing that “Russian personnel must be suspended from UN peacekeeping and police missions.”
Melnyk detailed the recent Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities, the strike on the spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the Chornobyl zone, and refuted the lies about occupied Starobilsk that Moscow is actively trying to spread on Putin’s orders.
Responding to the Russian delegation’s repeated claims about the alleged staging of the Bucha massacre, Ukraine's Permanent Representative stated that there is no other war crime in modern history that is better documented. “And this will be the final verdict for Russia’s political leadership, because Bucha is a disgrace that will be borne not only by your government but by the Russian people for decades and centuries,” he stated, addressing Russian representatives.
